Pressing machine for use in the manufacture of boots and shoes



*i y Aug. 4, 1931. AyEPPLE-R' 1,816,963

PRESSING MACHINE'. FOR 'USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BKOOTS AND SHOESdriginal Filed Dec. :50. 1927 45. rshoe. l @t course, ivhere the endsofthe Welt Patented Aug. 4, 1931 iran srArss CORPORATION., OF LPATERSON,NEW' JERSEY, A CRQATSN GE" JERSEY rREssING MACHINE Fon USE inivrrinnraoruna or :Booms Ann S'r-I'o'ns Application filed' December 30,1927, Serial No.y 243,703.

This invention 'relates to pressing machines for use in. the manufactureof boots and shoes and is illustrated as embodied in a machine 'forpressing the oint or lap of the 'Weltgof `shoes to reduce the thicknessof the vWelt at the joint in order that the shoe'edge may be ofsubstantially uniform thickness, tlere'by improving the appearance ofthe s oe.

all) ln ythe manufacture of stitchdoWn shoes,

particularly those of the smaller sizes, it is usual toturn outwardly:the marginof the upper materials all the Way round the shoe'andztofapply' ar false Welt, so called, upon the Aoutturned flange ofthe upper7 the Welt, ofcourse extending entirely around the shoe 'andbeing attached by a seam securingthe outturned iange of the upper to asole. This sewing operation is always begun on the .inner side 'or'theshoe and continued `coinpletely around the periphery ot the shoe.`When, atV the completion ot' the sewing operation, the end of the vveltfirst attached is re'ached,'it is necessary' to. form ra joint at the'ends of the Welt.` y"Various common ztypes ojoint for uniting the endsof pieces without producing eXtra thickness at the joint may beemployed, but these require more time and skill on the part of the op:erator than .is kjustified by this' classof Work. Accordingly, it isacommon practice, after y.the Welt has y'been `se-Wed l on completelyaround the-shoe, to overlap the ,Weltl on the `Welt end alreadyvattached and to continue the' seam `for .a l-evv stitches through boththicknesses of the Welt, the/upper andthe sole. Theloperator then stops'the machine, 'dravvsthe shoe away from the machinewith thel vveltattached, and cuts oli the Welt through the last stitch made; In cuttingolthe Welt the operator Will sever it at 'an angle'sothatvthe second endof the Welt is beveled, the lirst end havingv been similarly beveledbefore attachment of the Welt to the overlap,-there'is a thickerappearance ofthe shoe edge which is objectionable'. VThe term Weltfrlaplas `hereinafter used is meant to include any .form of Welt lap such thatthe Ljoint iis thicker than 'they remaining portion `fixed position atRenewed March 25, 1931.

'oit the Welt unless the term isshovfn by the centert to reifer to thetorni oi joint above described. y

Qbjectso' the invention are to provide an improved machine ier pressingWelt laps to reduce thethickness ot the shoe edge at the Welt lap to ththicl'ness o'lfthe remainder of the shoe edc and to lnx/)vide a machinefor this Work i `h can be operated rapidly and with a minimum et eliorton the part oilvl the ojicrator.

ln view of the foreging, the invention provides a Welt lap pressingmachine comprising tool for eng ing the upper surface of the l; at thev.L joint SuppenU 'or engaging the bottoni ot the shoe opposite toth/ewelt .joint, and poivenoperated means 'for effectmp relativemcrfenieut between the tool and jacent to the Welt joint, thus reducingthe shoe edge to normal thickness. Preferably and illustrated, the toolis arranged ina a downward and outward inclination with respect to themachine so that the shoe can be presented to the tool iviththe por-tienotthe shoe at which the Welt oint occurs in it'nll viewo'f the operator,and the vsupport is moved relatively to the tool in' a directionperpendicular to the Welt engaging surface oi' the tool by `power meansoperating through a lever having` a yielding fulcrum whereby powerfulpressure may be applied to the shoe materials betweenthe tool andsupport. As illustrated, the ulcrum is maintained in position by aspring the initial clut-ch et the r A, nti.A mit, when desired, rapidlyrepeated impulses to be imparted to tbe shoe support toy ctlectprogressively Welt oint.

Mrl`hese and other features of the invention Will appear more 'fullyfrom the following description when read in connection With the thedesired flattening of the port to compress the material atV and ad- SOEMACHINERY The illustrated machine is designed for pressing the welt lapof a stitchdown shoe in which the Welt is carried around thefshoe andthe ends lapped one upon the other. In Fig. 1 of the, drawings, thenumeral 10 indicates a column ony the top of which a head 12 is secured.In the upper part of the head 12 is a bearing 14 having a hole the axis`of which is inclined at about thirty degrees from the vertical and inwhich is mounted a sleeve 16 the lowerv part of which is formed as avwelt `pressing tool 18. The outer end of thetool 18 is beveled off onits upper side so that it can enter the angle between the side of theVshoe and the welt and its outer end is slightly rounded to fit thecurvature of the shank where the welt joint occurs. .The working 'face20 of the tool 18 is flat and has sufficient lateral extent to cover thewelt lap. On the face 2O of the tool an abutment 22 is pro-v vided, theabutment being mounted on the tool by means of screws 24 threaded intothe tool 18 and passing through' a slot in the abutment lso thattheabutment can be adjusted toward and from the outer endof the tool. Thesleeve 16 is secured in the bearing 14 by.

means of a nut26 threaded `on the sleeve,

tightening of which clamps an enlargement 2,8 ofthe sleeve and a washer30 against the lower end .of the bearing 14. In the sleeve 16 may beplaced an electric heatingunit 32 the terminals of which are indicatedat 34.

To cooperate withv the welt pressing tool 18 a support 36 lfor the soleof the shoe is provided-- The sole engaging face of the supporth as anextent both llaterally and out- .wardlyi somewhat greater thanV that ofthe welt pressing face 20 ofthe tool, Vand its llateral and outermargins are-.rounded off .to eliminate any sharp corners that might marVthe' shoe bottom during the pressing .Y cev operation. fr portion ofthe upper face of lthe supportisrecessed to avoid contactwith the screws24 which secure the( abutment 22 in position. The support 36has a stem38 :threadedi'nto 'a slide ,'40 mounted for movementat right angles` tothe welt engaging face 20 ofthe tool 18.' The stem 38 carries a set.Anut 42 to hold the support 36 in fixed relation to the 'slide after ithas beenadjusted relatively to thetool 18 by turning thestem in theslide. Y

The lower end ofthe slide is connectedv by a linkv 44r toa lever 46which is fulcrumed at 48 on a yielding plunger to be described.

At an intermediate pointOt'he lever 46 is connected to an eccentric rod52 on which is an eccentric strap 54 engaging an eccentric l56 on a.shaft 58, the eccentric giving a constant stroke to the intermediatepoint 5() of the lever 46. In order that excessive pressure maynot lbeapplied to thel work and that undue strain opposite end of the spring 66abuts againstl a member 68 mounted for movement lengthwise ofthe springin a lug 70 on the frame. In the upper portion of the lug 7 O isthreaded a screw 72 which bears against the member 68 and by turningwhichlinitial` tension of the spring 66 may beladjusted, theiadjustmentbeing maintained by a set nut 73. 'Ihe spring 66 issufficiently stiff so that heavy pressure is applied to the work byoperation of the eccentric 56.r Incase the thickness or resistance tocompression of the work is suiicient, the spring 66 will yield toprevent breakage of the machine andto cause no more thany apredetermined pressureto be applied to the work. The eccentric 56 isfixed to the shaft 58, and a pulley 74 is loosely mounted on the shaft58.` Between the pulley 74`and the eccentric shaft 58 any suitable formof clutch mechanism may be provided. The clutch illustrated issubstantially similar to that'disclosed linUnited States Letters PatentNo. 1,351,138, vgranted August 31, 1920, on application of R. BYSmith.yThe clutch is controlled by a verticalpsliderod 76 normally upheld by aspring 78. The upper end of the rod is arranged yto-engage awedge-shaped member 80 arranged to slide axially of the shaft and torotate: withthe shaft when the shaft turns. v'Ihe member 80 carries aprojection 82 which, when allowed to move axially of the shaft with thewedge member, engages a cooperating proj ection` or opening in thepulley 74 to effect rotation of theeccentric. The `rod 76 isdepressed.by a

ylever 86 fulcrumed atl 88 tothe frame and having attached to itsforward endv at'90 a treadle rod 92 which, at its lower end,is con-`necterd to a clutch operating .treadlev (not 'izo shown). Depression ofthe outer end of .the Y lever 86 by operationnof the treadle withdrawsvthe rod 76 from engagement with Vthe wedge member 80, allowing theclutch.

projections to engage, and, when the treadle is released, the spring 78raises the rod into ,o

the pathVof-the wedge member 80which is I cri .thus caused tofinove-axially1of ,the-.shaft and 'ftoegparate the clutch projectionsand istrip the eccentric. This clutch is of the repeatning type,rso thatby holdingthe treadle delpressed repeated rapid .impulses are imparted.the tool 18 which enters the angle between the yside ofthe shoe andthewelt. The in- Y clined position ofthe welt engaging face 2O Vandthecooperating-surface of the support 36 enable't'he shoe `"to-be presentedto the ma- A'Ichi-neat such an angle thaft'the operator can observe theoperation on the welt lap and locatei-t Iproperly withrespec't tothetool. The

' :abutment 22, by enga-gementwith the edge vface `ofthe welt,preventsthe tool from entering the angle far enough forcibly to engagethe v4shoe upper, thus ypreventing marring -of v-t'lie-fu-pper orcatching ofthe tool on a projecting edge of the upper at aseam. Theabutment also prevents thepressure applied to the'welt kfrom broadeningythe Welt laterally. T-lieshoe haviirg Vbeen properlyV located vwithrespect V-to 'the tool, `the 'operator depressed the treadle -to pulldownwardly on the rod "92, thuscausing the. lever l86. to depress therod 76 against :the spring 7 8 and withdraw the'upper 'end of the vrodfrom engagement with the wedge member 80. Connection is thus establishedbetween the eccentric shaft 58 and the Ycontinuously rotating pulley 74and the eccentric is rotated. Rotation of the eccentricpulls on the rod52 and turns the lever 46 on its fulcrum 48, thus moving the `slide andthe work support 36 perpendicularly toward the cooperating face 2O ofthe tool 18, pressing the portion of the shoe between them to reduce thethickness at the welt lap. If the edge of the shoe is too thick or theresistance to compression ofthe Work sufifieiently great, the fulcrum 48moves the plunger against the tension of the spring y 166, thusmomentarily transferring the fulcruin of the lever 46 to its pivotalconnection with the link 44. If required by the nature of the-work, theoperator holds his foot on the treadle so that rapidly repeated impulseswill b e imparted to the work support, the repeated hammering action ofwhich will act to reduce the thickness at the Welt lap progressively.

reduced progressively of its length. The effect produced by theoperation of the inachine is illustrated in Fig. 4.

In operating upon some classes of Work itis of advantage to h( ve thetool 18 heated. For

such work the electric heating unit 32 is pro- 3 vided in the sleeve`16, the tool being thus heated by conductionfroin the heating unit.Then heat is used, the operation of the inachine will be substantiallyas described, the

heated tool acting rmore effectively to set the reduced welt lap andshoe edge in the condition produced by the applied pressure.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:

1. In a machine for pressing the welt lap of 'a stitchdown shoe in whichthe welt is carried entirely around the shoe and the ends lapped oneupon theV other, the combination of a tool having a .flat lower surfacetoengage i the weltfand havin@` aflateiral extent sufficient to cover-the la 9 ed areay ofthe Welt a sole `eni f 9 `gaging kmember having asurface parallel to the welt engaging face of the tool, said surreofaces being inclined downwardly kand outwardly avithrespect to themachine,and pewer operated k.means vincluding a powerful spring4forrelatively moving the tool and said sole engaging ineinb-erin adirection perpeny dicular to their Work engaging surfaces to applypredetermined powerful pressure yto the material between them and tocanse the lapped portions of. the weltto be reduced in thickness.

2; In afmachine for reducing the thickness of welt laps, the combinationofga welt engaging tool, -a cooperating work lsupport between lwhichandthe tool .the work is tok be pressed, and mechanism comprising a.lever having its forward end connected to effect ,relative actua-tionof. thetool and support, a nyielding fulcruin forthe opposite end of the.leveijand an eccentric connected ,tothe lever at an intermediate point.f

.3. In a machine for pressing Welt lapsjtlie combination of aweltengaging tool, a cooperating work support movable relatively .to .thetool, a lever connected at .one end to thel work support, a yieldingfulcruin sup` porting the opposite end of ,the lever, and

means. acting at an intermediate point-'of the vleverto forcethe support`towardthe tool.

4. In a machine f-or pressing welt laps, vthe combination of a weltengaging tool, a coopy yerating work support movable rcxatively to thetool, a lever connected at one end to the work support, a yieldingfulcrum supporting the opposite end of the lever, apower driveneccentric, and aneccentric rod'connected to the lever'between its ends.,4

5. .In a machine for pressing welt laps, the combination ofa Weltengagingrtool, a slider mounted for movement toward and from said ftool,a sole support on theslide, a lever `connected to the slide, aneccentric connected to the lever between its ends to operate the worksupport, and a yielding member on which the 'lever is lfulcrumed tolimit the pressure on the work -produced by operation oit the eccentric.

6. In a machine for pressing welt laps, the combination or a weltengaging tool, alr slide lmounted for movement toward and from saidtool, a sole support. onithe slide, a plunger arranged for movementparallel to the slide, a spring arranged to resist movement of theplunger in onejdirection, a lever connecting Y the slide and plunger,and an eccentric lcon- -a stop-for the plunger, a spring arranged tohold the plunger against the stop, means for Avarying the tension ofthespring, a lever connected to the slide, and Y power-operated meansconnected to the lever for ope-rating` the slide, the pressure imparted'to the slide by the operation ofthe powerqmeans being limited by thetension of said spring. Y

8. ln a welt lap pressing machine, a welt engaging tool having adownwardly and outwardly inclined race forengaging the welt lap, avmember having a face. substantially parallel to the welt engaging faceof the tool and cooperating therewith to press the work,

la slide arranged for movement perpendicularly to the operating face ofthe tool and carrying thevmember, means for adjustingy saidmemberrelatively to the slide to vary the normal opening between theYmember and the tool,`a lever connected to said slide,`a yielding fulcrumfor the lever, andv power the sole oppositefthe welt lap, power-operatedmeans oreftecting relative movement of the tool and the supportperpendicularly :of the welt, and a repeating clutch'for controlling thepower-operated means to enable rapidly repeated relative movements to beimparted to the tool and support to flatten the welt lap. f

l1. A machine for treating the lapped ends or thewelt oi' a stitchdownshoe to reduce Y the-ir thickness having, in combination, a tool toengage the welt lap, a'support to engage the vsole opposite the weltlap, said support being movable perpendicularly to thewelt engagingVrace of the tool, power operatedv means for moving the support, and arepeatingclutch for 'controlling the power means so 'that a successionof rapidlyrepeated ham* vmer blows may be imparted to the supportprogressively to reduce the thickness of the welt lapto the thickness ofthe remainder of the welt.

l2. In a machine for reducing theithicky ness of the lappedl endsv ofthe welt of a stitchdown shoe, the combination of' a tool adapted toenter Vthe anglebetween the side or the shoe and the welt, saiditoolhaving a sleeve conductive-ly connected thereto, a heating unit in saidsleeve, a support :fory the bot tom of the shoe opposite to the tool,and means for relatively moving the tool and supportl perpendicularly tothe welt engaging face or the tool to causethe weltlap to be pressed 4bythe heated tool. *l

ln testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification. iv

' f ANDREW lilPPliER.Y

means havingV a constant stroke for operatl ing the lever to effectmovement of the slide toward the tool.

9. A machine for pressing the lapped ends of thefweltof a stitchdownshoe having, in

combination, a tool to engage the welt joint and having'suiiicient'lateral extent to cover lapped portions ofthe welt, an abutment locatedto Contact Vwith the edge race or the weltV and hold it from movementoutwardly of the shoe, a sole support-A Jfor engaging `the portion ofthesole opposite the welt lap,and power-operated means for relativelykmoving pressureto the welt lap to cause its thickness to bereduce'd tothe thickness of 'the remainder or the welt.

10. A machineror treating the lapped ends of the welt of astitchdown`shoeto reduce ltheir thickness having, in combination, a tool to engagethe welt and having sutcient lateral extent to cover the lapped portionsof the fthe tool and'sole support to apply powerful j Y welt, a supportfor engagingthe portion of i

